RSS leader’s son cremated, 2 unknown assailants booked

Amidst a pall of gloom which descended on this town since last evening when RSS leader Baldev Raj Arora's son Naveen (38) was shot dead by unidentified motorcycle-borne assailants, his last rites were performed here today.

A large number of persons, including senior RSS and BJP leaders, attended the cremation.

Slogans of “Bharat Mata ki Jai” and “Jai Shri Ram” were raised by RSS workers as they recited religious hyms, while an inconsolable Baldev Raj Arora lit his son’s pyre with teary eyes.

Arora, a senior RSS functionary himself, said he had no enmity with anyone. Senior RSS leaders, including Prant Pracharak Narendra Kumar, Uttar Kshetra Samajik Samrasta Pramukh Pramod Kumar and Punjab Sah-Baudhik Pramukh Jatinder Kumar and Parminder Singh Pinki, ex-MLA, visited the family to offer their condolences to the bereaved family.

Naveen Arora ran a dupatta shop with his father in the city’s main bazaar. He is survived by his wife Anu, an eight-year-old daughter, and a two-year-old son.

On Saturday evening, he was returning home from the shop to take his children to the park when the two unidentified motorcycle-borne men shot him dead.

AAP MLA (Urban) Ranbir Singh Bhullar also visited the bereaved family, where some mourners confronted him over the deteriorating law and order situation. Bhullar responded that he had consistently spoken out against gangsters in the state.

Meanwhile, based on Baldev Raj Arora’s statement, the city police have registered an FIR (No. 424 dated November 15, 2025) against two unknown persons under Sections 103 and 3–5 of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita (BNS) and Sections 25, 27, 54, and 59 of the Arms Act.

SSP Bhupinder Singh Sidhu said nine specialised teams had been formed and the CCTV footage with technical surveillance were being used to trace the attackers. “The culprits will be arrested soon, and strict action will follow,” he asserted.

Following the high-profile killing, BJP state president Sunil Jakhar, Union Minister of State for Railways Ravneet Singh Bittu, SAD president Sukhbir Singh Badal and several other leaders expressed their condolences on social media while questioning the security situation in the state.

Earlier during the day, a letter, purportedly issued by the “Sher-e-Punjab" brigade claiming responsibility for the killing, went viral on social media.

The letter, signed by self-proclaimed commander Paramjit Singh, alleged that the Arora family had “celebrated” after the 1984 Operation Bluestar and “rejoiced” at the deaths of Sikhs, hence the revenge was taken.